BONZA has axed some of its services between Mildura and Melbourne.
The dropping of Wednesday services from August 1, will reduce the weekly Mildura-Melbourne return flights Bonza offers from three to two.
The airline’s chief commercial officer, Carly Povey, said the decision was not made due to a lack of demand, but to address reliability issues.
“I will tell you, hand on heart, I believe the reduction of one flight a week will ultimately be temporary,” Ms Povey said.
“There have been some teething issues with reliability and we just need to make sure we find a solution to that.”
The Monday and Friday Mildura-Melbourne Bonza services will be unaffected, and no changes were being made to the Mildura-Sunshine Coast route.
The airline will contact customers who have booked Wednesday flights on the Mildura-Melbourne route between August 1 and October 28 by SMS. They will receive a refund or can make an alternative flight arrangement.
Ms Povey said the decision to reduce the Mildura service was tough, but had been made with the intention of earning the respect of travellers.
“This is actually about setting up ourselves for the long term,” Ms Povey said.
“Just stopping, taking some learnings as any new or existing business should do, and then earning the right to grow through that stability.”
Due to a lack of demand, five Bonza routes, Sunshine Coast-Coffs Harbour, Sunshine Coast-Port Macquarie, Sunshine Coast-Tamworth, Cairns- Mackay and Toowoomba Wellcamp-Whitsunday Coast will be removed.
An additional weekly service will be put on the Sunshine Coast-Albury, Sunshine Coast-Melbourne (Avalon) and Melbourne-Port Macquarie routes to meet demand.
